The longest segment focuses on Candace and Erika Hardnett. And their story bears some emphasis here, too.

Candace and Erika (formerly Erika Majors) couldn’t wait for the US Supreme Court. They got married last year in Las Vegas, Nevada. They came to Savannah from San Diego in 2008.

But heir immediate concern when they came here wasn’t changing laws. It was changing souls. They came here expressly to found Agape Empowerment Ministries, a church dedicated to affirming LGBT people of color.

“A woman led me back to Christ,” Candace says. “I knew then that if God’s using a female, someone that I’m involved with, to lead me to Him, how can it be wrong?”

No other LGBT-friendly church here offers an African-American style of worship. It’s exuberant, spirited and gospel-filled. That’s important in a majority black city.

That’s important when the black church is often the center of black life. That’s important when most black churches are stridently anti-gay.

And, frankly, even if you’re an atheist or can’t relate to African-American traditions, it’s important for LGBT people of all races. Because we need more out and proud people to advance the struggle for LGBT rights.

Agape gives African-Americans a place to be out and proud and celebrate Christ. The pair is quick to point out that Agape isn’t just LGBT and black. But it’s the majority.

“If I can’t find it in the Scriptures, where’s it coming from?” she asks of anti-gay church rhetoric. “The Bible does not substantiate that gays are in opposition to God.”

We talked a lot during our conversation a lot about the black church. Throughout history, the African-American church has been there to lift and push people through hard times.

The exception has been for gays. If most black churches aren’t preaching hell, they have a “don’t tell” policy that makes some parishioners leave their “whole selves” at the door.

“A lot of African-American congregations have taken this opportunity to become the oppressor,” Candace says. “They refuse to see the similarities.”

Hardnett and Majors confront the anti-gay Biblical falsehoods head on. But is that the best way to campaign for LGBT rights in the conservative Bible Belt?

No, they say. LGBT rights are civil rights. And applying Biblical reasoning to the laws of the state is mixing issues. They preach LGBT-positive messages to affirm one group, not to lobby another.

“The question is not whether this is right or wrong,” Candace says. “The question is, are our people being held under the same law, are they being protected?”

When asked how other black pastors have responded to her ministry’s presence and her advocacy here, Candace gives a confused look, a long silence and laughs.

“I don’t know and don’t care!” she exclaims. “I’m here to serve Christ and I’m not concerned what other pastors feel or think.”

Personally, Candace and Erika make an adorable couple. They met in San Diego, where they were both studying for the ministry. Their first date was at a Jewish deli.

Erika calls Candace “Spongebrain” because she studies and remembers a lot. Candace is more of the home body, preferring dinner and movies at home to nights out.

And ministry isn’t their only business. Erika developed and sells a weight loss product, Me and HCG. They had a store for a while in the Oglethrope Mall. It’s now online.